Silk is one of the most beautiful and elegant fabrics in the world. People revere it for its luxurious looks and gentle touch to the skin. However, you need to take care when cleaning and drying this delicate material to keep it in prime condition.
Read on to discover the best techniques for washing and ironing silk so that you don’t have to worry about damaging your precious silk garments, sheets, and pillowcases.
You can wash silk but you need to take more care when washing it than you do with your other garments. To get the best results, you’ll need a delicate laundry solution, cold water, and a clean towel.
Read our expert tips on how to clean silk below, starting with your detergent.
Most laundry detergents aren’t suitable for washing silk.
They’re formulated to work best on cotton and synthetic fabrics. In fact, the pH level in most detergents strips silk of its natural proteins over time.
To get the best results, you need a detergent with a neutral pH level.
You can pick up both hand wash and machine wash silk detergent in most supermarkets.
You can wash silk in a washing machine. Here’s how:
You can hand wash silk in the sink or bath. Here’s what you need to do:
You can get a stain out of silk but it’s harder than with other fabrics.
This is how you remove stains from silk:
To dry silk, follow these expert tips:
You can’t tumble dry silk because the heat from tumble drying can really damage its delicate fibres.
If you have to use a dryer, put the machine on its ‘air’ setting for 15 minutes. Don’t add any dryer balls or fabric sheets while your garment or linen is in the drum.
Even with these precautions, tumble-drying silk is not advisable.
Silk creases quite easily but thankfully, you can iron it without causing any damage.
Here’s how you can get creases out of silk using your iron:
You can steam silk if you want to get creases out of your garments, sheets, or pillowcases.
There’s no risk of burning, no ironing board needed, and steaming is great for getting rid of odours.
You can use a garment steamer on delicate fabrics like silk.
Here's how you steam clothes, including silk clothes:
You are about to visit a Philips global content page
Continue